There are many stereotypes( 定型 ) about the character of people in various parts of the United States. In the Northeast and Midwest, people are said to be closed and private. In the South and West, however, they are often thought of as being more open and hospitable . Ask someone from St. Louis where the nearest sandwich shop is, and he or she will politely give you directions. A New Yorker might eye you at first and after deciding it is safe to talk to you, might give you a rather unexpected explanation. A person from Georgia might be very kind about directing you and even suggest some different places to eat. A Texan just might take you to the place and treat you to lunch.
American stereotypes are abundant. New Englanders are often thought of as being friendly and helpful. Southerners are known for their hospitality and warmth. People from the western part of the United States are often considered very outgoing. These differences in character can be traced to different factors such as climate, living conditions, and historical development.
When travelling from place to place, Americans themselves are often surprised at the differing degrees of friendliness in the United States.
43 . The main idea of the passage is _____________.
A. even Americans are surprised at the differences among themselves
B. there are many differences in character in different parts of the USA.
C. there are many reasons for the differences
D. stereotypes about people are not necessarily true
44. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. New Yorkers are usually open with strangers.
B. People from the South are usually considered good
C. The friendliest Americans travel from place to place.
D. Different parts have different customs and habits.
45. The differences lie in the following except ______ of the parts.
A. the weather B. the history C. geography D. the names
46 . The word "abundant" in the second paragraph may probably mean _________.
A. plentiful B. normal C. curious D. strange
Geniuses amaze us, impress us and make us all a little jealous．How do they differ from the average person? Scientists are working hard to figure out that answer．Tune in to the National Geographic Channel to find out about the discoveries they’re making in the series My Brilliant Brain.
When Marc Yu was only two years old, he began to play the piano．After a year, he started learning pieces by Beethoven．Now he’s a world-famous concert pianist at age eight．He learns newer and more difficult pieces with ease and can identify any note he hears．He seems to be specially designed for music．In Born Genius, National Geographic looks at the science behind child prodigies (神童) to explain why some children seem to be born without limits.
Genius didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh．His came only after he nearly died from bleeding in his brain．After recovering, McHugh’s head was filled with new thoughts and pictures．So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art．Now, he’s a seemingly unstoppable creative machine．Sufferers of autism and brain injury have shown that great mental ability can sometimes come from damage or disease．Accidental Genius explores this puzzling relationship.
Can normal people be trained to be geniuses? Susan Polger has shown no signs of extraordinary intelligence．Yet, during her childhood, she studied thousands of chess patterns and learned to recognize them immediately．As a result, she was able to beat skilled adult players by age 10 and can now play up to five games at the same time without even seeing the boards．Make Me a Genius examines what it takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.
If becoming a genius were easy, we’d all be one．Yet, there is much more to super intelligence than simply being born lucky．Learn more about amazing brains this month on National Geographic’s My Brilliant Brain.
57．My Brilliant Brains is most probably from _______.
A．a website B．the radio C．a magazine D．a newspaper
58．The author takes Marc Yu as an example to show that a child prodigy is.
A．a person who learns something easily B．a child who is eager to learn new things
C．a student who practices an instrument a lot D．a kid who works hard to do well in school
59．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．New things about the brain are still being discovered.
B．People without natural abilities can learn to do things well.
C．Some people naturally have more active brains.
D．People are usually smarter when they recover from brain injury.
60．The author develops the passage mainly by .
A．providing typical examples B．following t
he natural time order
C．presenting a cause and analyzing its effects D．comparing opinions from different scientists
When you are little, it’s not hard to believe you can changed the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the people at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them. "Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? You grownups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words."
I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur（刺激） action. Now, a decade from Rio, after I've sat through many more conferences, I'm not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual's voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.
When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I'm learning that as we have to make choices--education, career, lifestyle--life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful. We are learning a shortsighted way of looking at the future, focusing on four-year government terms and quarterly business reports. We are taught that economic growth is progress, but we aren't taught how to pursue a happy, healthy or sustainable way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for our future when we were 12 was idealistic and naïve（天真）.
Today I'm no longer a child, but I'm worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. I know change is possible, because I am changing, still f
iguring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of the change. I hope this goal will be met through our common efforts. Thank you all.
53．The purpose of what the speaker said at the age of 12 was to .
A．end poverty and make school beautiful
B．find environmental answers and show off
C．focus people’s attention on some social problems
D．find a wonderful place and clean it up
54．What does the underlined word “ovation” in the second paragraph refer to?
A．A long period of laughing. B．A cold and unfriendly welcome.
C．An expression used for greeting. D．Great applause or cheering.
55．The information in the text is presented mainly through .
A．question and answer B．a personal lecture
C．cause and effect D．listing steps in a process
56．Which of the following best describes the speaker?
A．He is an experienced educator. B．He is an impolite man.
C．He is a man of great worries. D．He is a man of social responsibility.
Pushing children too hard is a really big social problem that seems to be getting worse．Now we have 6-month-olds in music classes and swimming classes．Parents fear that if other children are attending these classes，they will be holding their own children back if they do not enroll，too．
The other extreme，simply taking a_laissez-faire_approach and letting c
hildren do—or refuse to do—whatever they want，is not the answer either，of course．
Dr Taylor emphasizes that parents need to push their children based on what is best for the children，not what is best for themselves．If children understand that an activity is in their best interests，then they will accept it, he finds．
Dr Taylor and other family experts remain pessimistic about the possibilities for widespread social change．“The force of our popular culture，driven by money and superficial（表面上的） values，cannot be resisted，” he says．But change can take place at a“micro-level,” in families and schools．
When changes do occur，the rewards can benefit everyone in the family．One mother supporting this new approach toward parenting mentions the advantages her family experie
nced afte
r her children cut back on activities．“The biggest thing is that since we have done this，we are rested,” she says．“Not only are our kids rested，because they're not in a ton of stuff, but my husband and I are rested，because we're not driving them everywhere．We weren’t living in the moment when we were always busy．We were living by the schedule．The return on our investment of spending time together has been enormous．”
49．One of the reasons why parents push children so hard is that they________．
A．believe in early development in children B．are too busy to take care of their children
C．don't want their children to lag behind D．want to repeat what their parents did to them
50．The phrase“a laissez-faire approach”（in Line 1，Paragraph 2）most probably refers to______．
A．denying them what they need B．controlling children in a flexible way
C．developing a keen interest in children D．letting children do whate
ver they want
51．The best way to encourage children to work hard is___________．
A．to make them believe it’s in their best interests
B．to consider the matter from parents' standpoint
C．to emphasize the importance of hard work from time to time
D．to make it interesting and enjoyable to them
52．The new approach toward parenting mentioned in the passage most likely refers to _______．
A．relieving children’s hard work and unn
ecessary activity
B．resisting the superficial values of pop culture
C．reducing more activity off their school schedule
D．spending more time with their children
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45. The advertisements are to________.
A. start a business. B. look for English teachers.
C. provide the latest jobs. D. help people find a suitable job.
46. From the first advertisement, we can learn that ______.
A..English Teacher agency charges teachers for 
this service.
B. you must go online to offer your basic information first.
C. you may call to get more information about the job.
D. once you join English Teacher agency, you will get a job.
47. Which of the following is TRUE of the private English tutor in Advertisement 3?
A. Be an English language expert from UK. B. Speak American English.
C. Have rich teaching experience. D. Spoken English as well as Chinese is quite good.
48. If you didn't pass the interview for Teacher / Librarian, the probable reason should be that __
A. you like working with children. B. you have a strong team spirit.
C. you lack teaching experience. D. you are poor in Chinese.
第二部分阅读理解（共两节；满分45分）
第一节阅读短文（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
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。
It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a pale sky and a muzzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o’clock in the afternoon the gray of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, surrounding them in mist. It would be dark by four. The leather seats felt damp to the hands, and there must have been a small crack in the roof, because now and again little drips of rain fell softly through, polluting the leather and leaving a dark – blue stain like a spot of ink. The wind came in, at times shaking the coach as it traveled round the bend of the road, and in the exposed places on the high ground it blew with such force that the whole body of the coach trembled and swayed, rocking between the high wheels like a drunken man.
The driver, muffled （裹住） in a greatcoat to his ears, bent almost double in his seat in a faint endeavor to gain shelter from his own shoulders. The few passengers pressed together for warmth, exclaiming all together when the coach sank into a heavier rut （车辙） than usual, and one old fellow, who had kept up a constant complaint ever since he had joined the coach at Truro, rose from his seat in anger; and, feeling with the window – frame, let the window down with a crash, bringing a shower of rain upon himself and his fellow – passengers. He thrust his head out and shouted up to the driver, scolding him in a angry voice for a rogue and a murderer; that they would all be dead before they reached Bodmin if he persisted in driving at dangerous speed; they had no breath left in their bodies as it was, and he would never travel by coach again.
41．What is the main image the author gives in this description?
A．In terrible weather, a coach was running fast in mud with complaining passengers on it.
B．On a cold and rainy day the coach broke and the driver was repairing it on the road.
C．On a cold night the driver and the passengers felt very cold and struggled in the rain.
D．The bad condition of the road resulted in the bad mood of the passengers.
42．Which of the following is correct according to the text?
A．The windows were tightly closed, so the cold air was kept outside the coach.
B．The spot of ink stained leather, so the seats felt damp to the hands.
C．Most probably the roof of the coach was broken.
D．There was a drunken man swaying constantly on the coach.
43．The expression “muffled in a greatcoat to… his own shoulders” implies .
A．the driver felt very cold and tried to change his seat
B．the driver felt comfortable by doing in that way
C．The driver felt very cold and tried to gain warmth
D．The driver tried to protect his ears and shoulders
44．We can learn from the text that .
A．the coach was running slowly due to the bad weather
B．an old passenger who got on the coach at Truro was angry about the windows
C．one of the passengers on the coach was a murderer
D．the few passengers let out exclamations as the coach moved violently