II. 阅读理解（Reading comprehension）（共20小题；选择题5小题，每小题1分；非选择题15小题，每小题2分，计35分）
A) 选择题：阅读下面的短文，根据文意从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和D）中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳选项。(Read the following passage which is followed by five questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the passage.)
Mexic Past and Present
Hundreds of years ago, Native-American tribes lived in Mexico. The Aztecs built beautiful cities. They had a calendar (历法) and a written language. However, the Spanish destroyed the Aztecs in 1521. For the next 300 years, Spain ruled over Mexico. That's why Mexicans speak Spanish.
Every September 16 the Mexican people hold a celebration in Mexico City, their country's capital. It is their Independence Day. On that date in 1821 they told Spain they would no longer be ruled.
Breaking free from Spain caused a war. When it was over, the Mexicans had their own government. They made their own laws.
Today America and Mexico are friends, but it wasn't always that way. President James Polk wanted America to reach from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. He tried to buy what is now the American southwest from Mexico. Mexico would not sell. So from 1846 to 1848 Mexico and America fought a war to ascertain where their borders would be. When the war ended, Mexico had lost a lot of land. Now the Rio Grande River forms the border between the two nations. America is on the north side of the river. Mexico is on the south side.
Mexico has mountains and a hot, dry climate. Crops can grow on only a small part of the land. Still, Mexicans grow much of the coffee, oranges, and sugar used in the US. Mexicans have influenced building styles in southwestern US and added words such as patio and canton to American English. Americans also enjoy eating many Mexican foods like burritos, tacos, tortillas, and tamales.
46. According to the passage, what happened second on a historical timeline?
A. Mexicans declared their independence from Spain.
B. The Spanish ruled Mexico.
C. The Aztecs lived in Mexico.
D. Americans fought a war with Mexico.
47. The passage says that President Polk wanted ________.
A. the US to expand its borders to the Pacific Ocean
B. Mexico to change its Independence Day to July 4th
C. Mexico to become one of the states of the Union
D. Americans to adopt the Mexican language
48. Another word for the underlined word “ascertain” is ________.
A. inspect B. discover C. change D. determine
49. Mexicans have the following influences on America EXCEPT ________.
A. building styles B. vocabulary
C. clothes D. food
50. Before the Aztecs were conquered, these Native Americans probably ________.
A. didn't speak Spanish
B. couldn't read or write any language
C. didn't have tools
D. didn't understand the concept of time
The skin which covers the tips of the fingers and thumbs is crossed by numerous ridges (隆起) arranged in different patterns. These patterns are permanent from birth and remain exactly the same throughout a person's life, even when the skin becomes wrinkled and cracked as a result of old age. Such patterns are never passed on from parents to children, and no one in the world has the same patterns as anyone else. Even identical twins have different sets of fingerprints. As a result, fingerprints offer a most useful and foolproof way of identifying people. Any ridged part of the hand and the foot may be used as a means of identification, but finger impressions are usually preferred since they can be taken easily and quickly.
Fingerprints are classified in the ways: by general shapes and contours(轮廓), by the finger positions of the pattern-types, and by size (often measured by counting the ridges in the loops). Every set of fingerprints has different “ridge characteristics” (i. e. the print of each separate finger is different from that of all the other fingers), which belong to one of four basic groups: arches, loops, whorls and composites. All fingerprints can then be divided into 1, 024 groups. By using details in the patterns above, these 1, 024 groups can be further divided into thousands of smaller groups, thus making it possible to find a particular set of fingerprints in a few minutes.According to this passage, the true statement about human fingerprints is that ____.
| A．people's fingerprints sometimes can be passed on from parents to children |
| B．people’s fingerprints are unique but identical twins may have the same fingerprints |
| C．using fingerprints is the only way to identify people |
| D．people's fingerprints will not change in all their lives |
We prefer to use fingerprints to identify people because ____.
| A．we can never find the same set of fingerprints among human beings |
| B．finger impressions can be taken easily and quickly |
| C．fingerprints offer a most useful and foolproof way of identifying people |
| D．all of the above |
The word “foolproof” (Line 7, Para. 1) most probably means ____.
| A．that is permanent | B．that is acceptable |
| C．that can not go wrong | D．that is not foolish |
About the classification of fingerprints, which is TRUE? ____.
| A．Fingerprints can be classified in three ways |
| B．All fingerprints can be divided into 1, 024 groups and can not be divided further |
| C．It is not easy to find a particular set of fingerprints in a short time |
| D．People can not classify the fingerprints in an effective way |
Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag
Difficulty: Very Easy
Average User Rating:★★★★☆(4.3/5)
Milk can become homemade ice cream in five minutes by using a bag! This homemade, creamy treat is a summertime delight for your kids and you alike.
What you’ll need:
1 tablespoon of sugar; 1/2 cup of milk; 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla (香草香精); 6 tablespoons of rock salt; 1 small-sized plastic food storage bag; 1 gallon-sized plastic food storage bag; ice cubes.
How to make it:
lFill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
lPut milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
lPlace the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
lShake until the mixture turns into ice cream, which takes about five minutes.
lWipe the top of the small bag, and then open it carefully. Enjoy!
Tips:
1/2 cup of milk will make about one spoon of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don’t increase the amount more than that—a large amount might be too big for kids to pick up because the ice itself is heavy.
Here is another version of the homemade ice cream recipe from another parent!
These are the homemade ice cream ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla butter and nuts; 1 tablespoon of sugar; 1/2 cup of milk.
These are the other supplies:
Plastic sandwich bag; 12 salt pellets; 1 dish of ice; large plastic bag.
Put the ice cream ingredients in the small bag, and then put the bag, salt and ice in the big bag. Hold the bag shut and move it around on the floor for about 5 minutes.
When I made ice cream at home last time, although the salt pellets didn’t really dissolve (溶解) that well, I still got ice cream. It was not smooth ice cream, probably because of the low-fat milk. It was incredible that it could be ready in 5 minutes (not counting preparing the ingredients)
Next, I changed the recipe, using a tablespoon of cocoa, a tablespoon of sugar, and a cup of milk. It was a bit too chocolaty, but good!The underlined “that” in “Tips” section refers to ____.
| A．1/2 cup of milk | B．1 cup of milk |
| C．1 spoon of ice cream | D．2 spoons of ice cream |
Which of the following things is NOT included in both recipes?
| A．Sugar | B．Ice | C．Plastic bag | D．Nuts |
Which of the following statements about the second parent is TRUE?
| A．He/ She doesn’t agree with the first parent. |
| B．He/ She doesn’t think five minutes is enough |
| C．He/ She doesn’t like cocoa better than nuts. |
| D．He/ She doesn’t think the chocolaty tastes bad. |
One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. On this occasion, the task was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying the older ones. Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this happy news. But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson,” I said. I decided they must be outside. Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a wintry night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house. After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered. “Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone. I was not my usual calm, rational self. After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. This was too favorable to be believed. Well, it turned out that I shouldn’t have believed it. It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts. Mounted(裱装) and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.
That was the most precious gift of all.Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that ____.
| A．her son had brought his girlfriend home |
| B．the father of her son’s girlfriend had come to her home to take photos of the children |
| C．she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son |
| D．she should have taken the children along with her |
According to Paragraph 3, “it” means ____.
| A．the two younger children have been in bed |
| B．the older children have been answering the phone |
| C．the author will give her older son a lesson |
| D．the older son has gone outside with his girlfriend |
The sentence “It was only part of the truth.” (Para. 5) implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also ____.
| A．had a birthday party | B．framed some photographs |
| C．had their pictures taken | D．showed off their best clothes |
Which of the following possible titles best expresses the main idea of this passage?
| A．Puppy Love | B．Brotherhood |
| C．Mother and Children | D．A Precious Birthday Gift |
A new generation addiction is quickly spreading all over the world. Weboholism（醉心于网络）, a twentieth century disease, affects people from different ages. They surf the net, use e-mail and speak in chat rooms. They spend many hours on the computer, and it becomes a compulsive habit. They cannot stop, and it affects their lives.
Ten years ago, no one thought that using computers could become compulsive（强迫性的）behavior that could affect the social and physical life of computer users. This obsessive behavior has affected teenagers and college students. They are likely to log on computers and spend long hours at different websites.
They become hooked on computers and gradually their social and school life is affected by this situation. They spend all free time surfing and don’t concentrate on homework, so this addiction influences their grades and success at schools. Because they can find everything on the websites, they hang out there. Moreover, this addiction to websites influences their social life.
They spend more time in front of computers than with their friends. The relation with their friends changes. The virtual（虚拟的）life becomes more important than their real life. They have a new language that they speak in the chat rooms and it causes cultural changes in society.
Because of the change in their behavior, they begin to isolate（孤立 themselves from the society and live with their virtual friends. They share their emotions and feelings with friends who they have never met in their life. Although they feel confident on the computer, they are not confident with real live friends they have known all their life. It is a problem for the future. This addictive behavior is beginning to affect the whole world.The main idea of the passage is about _______.
| A．the cause of weboholism | B．the advantage of weboholism |
| C．the popularity of weboholism | D．the influence of weboholism |
The underlined work “obsessive” in the second paragraph most probably means “______”.
| A．attractive | B．addictive | C．professional | D．potential |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．weboholism has the greatest effect on teenagers. |
| B．students can hardly balance real and virtual life. |
| C．people are addicted to games on the Internet. |
| D．virtual life is more vivid and attractive anyway. |
Which of the following is NOT true of weboholism?
| A．It contributes to the development of the web. |
| B．The chat room language may change social culture. |
| C．The problem will be getting more and more serious later. |
| D．People addicted to the web often become inactive in real life. |
The author’s attitude towards weboholism is that of being ________.
| A．optimistic | B．positive | C．oppositive | D．acceptable |
Forest guards in western India are using cell phones with ringtones（手机铃声）of cows mooing, goats bleating and roosters crowing to attract leopards （豹）that have wandered into human settlements, officials said on Monday.
The wild cats in the state of Gujarat often get into villages near forests in search of food, say officials, adding that this results in attacks on people. But rather than use methods such as live bait（活诱饵）like goats tied to trees to lure (引诱) the leopards, which then fall into large pits dug by guards, officials say they have found a safer method to trap the cats.
“The moos of a cow, and bleating of a goat from the phone have proved effective to trap leopards,” said D. Vasani, a senior forest official in Gujarat. “This trick works.” Vasani said forest guards have downloaded the sounds of over a dozen animals as ringtones on their mobiles which they attach to speakers and fix behind a cage. They then play the ringtone continuously for up to two hours until the curious leopard appears and moves into the cage looking for its easy meal.
At least five leopards have so far been lured from villages since the new ringtone method was introduced three months ago. The cats have all been released （释放）back into forest areas.
Wildlife activists welcomed the new initiative (新方案) saying that previous methods of trapping the cats using pits often resulted in the animals getting injured. What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Cell Phones to Hunt Animals | B．Practical Uses of Cell Phones |
| C．Wildlife And New Technology | D．Phone Ringtones to Catch Leopards |
Forest guards in India try to catch leopards mainly because _______.
| A．leopards attack villagers | B．they want leopard fur |
| C．leopards attack animals | D．they have new ringtones |
According to the wildlife activists, the new method is _______.
| A．appreciated because it benefits leopards | B．not good because it may injure animals |
| C．effective because ringtones work | D．not safer than the former one |
We can learn from the passage except that _______.
| A．forest guards don’t mean to hurt the leopards |
| B．forest guards no longer use pits to trap leopards |
| C．forest guards used goats to attract leopards |
| D．recorded animal sound are used to lure leopards |
What will be needed to trap the leopards using the new method?
a. cell phones b. animals c. sounds of animals d. cages e. large pits
| A．abcd | B．bce | C．ade | D．acd |