Ⅲ. 阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节 阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Although April did not bring us the rains we all hoped for, and although the Central Valley doesn’t generally experience the sound and lightning that can go with those rains, it’s still important for parents to be able to answer the youthful questions about thunder and lightning.
The reason these two wonders of nature are so difficult for many adults to explain to children is that they are not very well understood by adults themselves. For example, do you know that the lightning we see flashing down to the earth from a cloud is actually flashing up to a cloud from the earth? Our eyes trick us into thinking we see a downward motion when it’s actually the other way round. But then, if we believed only what we think and we see, we’d still insist that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night.
Most lightning flashes take place inside a cloud, and only a relative few can be seen jumping between two clouds or between earth and a cloud. But, with about 2,000 thunderstorms taking place above the earth every minute of the day and night, there’s enough activity to produce about 100 lightning strikes on earth every second.
Parents can use thunder and lightning to help their children learn more about the world around them. When children understand that the light of lightning flashing reaches their eyes almost at the same moment, but the sound of the thunder takes about 5 seconds to travel just one mile, they can begin to time the interval(间隔) between the flash and the crash to learn how close they are to the actual spark(闪光).
1. According to the author, in the area of the Central Valley, ___________.
A. rains usually come without thunder and lightning
B. it is usually dry in April
C. children pay no attention to the two natural wonders
D. parents are not interested in thunder and lightning
2. We believe that lightning is a downward motion because ___________.
A. we were taught so by our parents from our childhood
B. we are taken in by our sense of vision
C. it is a common natural sight
D. it is a truth proved by science
3. What is TRUE about lightning according to the passage?
A. Only a small number of lightning flashes occur on earth.
B. Lightning travels 5 times faster than thunder.
C. Lightning flashes usually jump from one cloud to another.
D. There are far more lightning strikes occurring on earth than we can imagine.
4. The underlined word “activity” is most closely related to the word(s)___________.
A. “cloud” B. “lightning strikes”
C. “lightning flashes” D. “thunderstorms”
5. It can be concluded from the passage that____________.
A. we should not believe what we see or hear
B. things moving downward are more noticeable
C. people often have wrong ideas about ordinary phenomena (现象)
D. adults are not as good as children in observing certain natural phenomena
Employment practices often reflect the needs of employers several decades ago．Times have changed．And so too has the Canadian workforce．Yet many employment practices have not kept pace with this change．For example, some work environments and washrooms designed for able-bodied workers seldom accommodate people who use a wheelchair．
Modernizing these practices is what employment equality is about．For example, making sure work benches and washrooms are adapted for disabled people entering the workplace paves the way for workers who become disabled on the job．By doing so, any given group of people? formerly discriminated against-now has access to better employment opportunities．
The objective, of course, is to make the workplace reflect Canadian society．However, this does not necessarily mean setting and enforcing quotas(实行配额）. Rather, it means identifying the barriers to employment and designing measures, with achievable goals and clear timetables, to remove them．
For example, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees-Canada’s largest union, it would be unrealistic in the short term to insist that because half of the working age population is women, that half of the employees of an engineering firm should be women．At this moment, there would not be enough qualified female engineers．
A reasonable numerical goal would be based on the number of women who actually are engineers （8% ） and those who are studying to become engineers （25% ）．A short term goal of 13% would be appropriate without running the risk of hiring unqualified people．
Equally important is to ensure people who have been disadvantaged the chance to become qualified for new opportunities．If aboriginal people （土著居民） , for example, can’t qualify for certain jobs because they haven’t had access to appropriate educational opportunities, then an employment equality program would have to address that problem with training programs.
Employment laws in this country cannot be considered displeasing if they guarantee all Canadians fair and equal access to the workforce.The passage is mainly about how to ____.
| A．modernize equipment for the disabled at work |
| B．achieve equality of employment opportunities |
| C．protect women’s rights in employment |
| D．complete a job training program |
The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 3 refers to ____.
| A．barriers | B．measures | C．goals | D．timetables |
The example of women shows that ____.
| A．only a small percentage of women engineers will get promoted |
| B．13% of the working age women should be hired as engineers |
| C．policy makers should adopt a practical and flexible approach |
| D．the quota of women for employment should be raised |
The underlined word "address" in Paragraph 6 probably means _
| A．put forward | B．run into | C．find out | D．deal with |
It tastes just like chicken
Away from home, eating is more than just a way to keep your stomach full．It is a language all its own, and no words can say, "Glad to meet you ．．．glad to be doing business with you ．．．" quite like sharing a meal offered by your host．
Clearly, mealtime is not the time for you to say, "Thanks, but no thanks．" Acceptance of the food on your plate means acceptance of host, country, and company．So, no matter how difficult it may be to swallow, swallow．Or, as one experienced traveler says, "Travel with a cast-iron stomach and eat everything everywhere．"
Often, the food offered represents proudly your host country’s eating culture．What would Ataiericans think of a French person who refused to take a bite of homemade apple pie or sirloin? Our discomfort comes not so much from the thing itself; it comes from our umamiliarity with it．After all, an oyster has remarkably the same look as a sheep’s eye; and a first look at a lobster would remind almost anybody of a creature from a science fiction movie, not something you dip in butter and eat．By the way, in Saudi Arabia sheep’s eyes are a famous dish and in parts of China it’s bear’s paw soup．
Can you refuse such food without being rude? Most experienced business travelers say no, at least not before taking at least a few bites．It helps, though, to slice any item very thin．This way, you minimize the taste and the reminder of where it came from．Or, " Swallow it quickly, " as one traveler recommends．"I still can’t tell you what sheep’s eyeballs taste like．" As for dealing with taste, the old line that "it tastes just like chicken" is often thankfully true．Even when the "it" is really rat or snake．
Another useful piece of advice is not knowing what you are eating．What’s for dinner? Don’t ask． Avoid glancing into the kitchen or looking at English-language menus．Your host will be pleased that you are eating the food he offers, and who knows? Maybe it really is chicken in that soup．The purpose of the article is to ____．
| A．introduce unfamiliar food |
| B．share the writer’s personal experiences |
| C．suggest ways to overcome a cultural barrier |
| D．advise on how to politely refuse to eat foreign food |
According to the writer, people hesitate at strange food mainly due to ____．
| A．the way it looks | B．safety worries |
| C．lack of information about it | D．the unfamiliar atmosphere |
From the article we can infer that ____．
| A．an American may feel comfortable with sirloin |
| B．one should refuse strange food after a few bites |
| C．English-language menus are not always dependable |
| D．one needs a cast-iron stomach to travel in other cultures |
One may say "It tastes just like chicken．" when ____．
| A．showing respect for chicken-loving nations |
| B．greeting people with different dieting habits |
| C．evaluating chefs at an international food festival |
| D．getting someone to try a visually unpleasant meal |
Gifts for the hard to please
According to the passage, the Talking Travel Companion can be used to ____．
| A．mix colors | B．charge batteries |
| C．tell the time | D．cool the body |
Where is the passage probably taken from?
| A．A travel guide． | B．A product catalogue． |
| C．A research paper． | D．A sports magazine． |
All the listed products ____．
| A．are button operated | B．produce light |
| C．run on batteries | D．offer one year free repairs |
Once Dr．Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical ^problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．
Dr．: Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．
"Are you getting food you like?"
The patient said nothing．
"Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"
The answer was no．
The doctor put his hand on the man’s shoulder and his voice was very soft．
"If; you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"
"Yes, yes," the patient said．
The change in the patient’s appearance couldn’t have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and! had also been received．
Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn’t getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"
"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn’t carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"
"I would probably insist," the student said．
"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won’t be-easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let’s get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he’ll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"
Three weeks later．Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．The patient had no desire to eat because
| A．he was not hungry | B．he was seriously ill |
| C．he was given special meals | D．he was not satisfied with the food |
According to the passage, we can conclude that.
| A．the patient’s native language was Spanish |
| B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger |
| C．Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient |
| D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient |
Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff?
| A．Cold. | B．Considerate. | C．Curious. | D．Careless. |
What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?
| A．Doctors should be good at foreign languages. |
| B．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems. |
| C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills. |
| D．Doctors should have a good relationship ith their patients. |
请阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own。We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies Beyond our everyday lives.
This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists（幻想）literature or movies like the lord of the rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other，to the world around us ,and to the world of make-believe.but have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us?
Human beings，as biologists have suggested，possess an inborn desire to connect with and understand other life forms，However, people，especially in big eities，often lead rather isolated lives，In a study of British schoolchildren，it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than common wildlife.without modem technology，a small Pond could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants，insects，birds，and animals 。when we lack meaning（交互）with the world around us,and somethings even with our families and friends，we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen。
The world of make-believe is not necessarily bad,but when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet（出路）for our sense of wonder，then we are really missing something，we are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful wonderful worlds exist all around us.but even more interesting is that if we look closely enough，we can see that these worlds,in a broad sense,are really part of our own.The popularity of the lord of the rings.proves
| A．the close connection between man and the fantasy world |
| B．the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature |
| C．the fine taste of moviegoers around the world |
| D．the general existence of the sense of curiosity |
What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?
| A．people are far less familiar witn the world of fantasy |
| B．the world around us could serve as a source of wonder |
| C．the world of fantasy can be mirrored by a small and lively pond. |
| D．Modern technology prevents us from developing our sense of wonder |
If our sense of wonder relies totally on the world of make-believe,we will
| A．fail to appreciate the joy in our lives |
| B．be confused by the world of make-believe |
| C．miss the chance to recognize the fantasy world |
| D．be trapped by other worlds existing all around us |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To show us the hidden beauty in our world. |
| B．to warn us not to get lost in the fantasy world. |
| C．To argue against the misuse of the sense of wonder. |
| D．To discuss the influence of the world of make-believe. |