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Most young architects ----particularly those in big cities ----can only dream about working in a building of their own. And marking that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brain Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical –parts firm in Atlanta. Form the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting(生锈的) walls.
In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition(拆除), pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building, The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there – the walls, the rust, the light,” Yocum said.” Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation(装置) in there-a slow-motion show.”
Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer(缓冲) zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.
Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.
1. According to the passage, it is       for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.
A. easy            B. unnecessary          C. unrealistic      D. common
2. Yocum bought the old building because  __.
A. it was a bargain to him             B. it was still in good condition
C. it was located in the city center       D. it looked attractive from the outside
3. Working on the old building, Yocum and Bell_.
A. pulled rubbish out through the roof             B. removed the skylights from the bathroom
C. presented a slow–motion show in an art gallery  
D. built a kitchen at the back part of the old building
4. It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell __.
A. benefited a lot from pulling down the roof      B. turned more old buildings into art galleries
C. got inspiration from decorating their old building
D. paid more attention to the outside of the gallery
5. The main idea of the passage is that __.
A. people can learn a lot from their failures
B. it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building
C. people should not judge things by their appearance
D. creative people can make the best of what they have

科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 较易
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  What comes into your mind when you think about robots? Do you imagine armies of evil metal monsters planning to take over the world? Or, perhaps of mechanical men who have been created as guards or soldiers by a mad genius? Or maybe you think of man- like robots who act, think, and look like human beings. In fact robots like these have more to do with science fiction films than with real life. In the real world robots are machines that do jobs which otherwise have to be done by people. Robots either operate by themselves or under the control of a person.
  In a car factory, for example, robot machinery can put together and paint car bodies. On the sea bed remotecontrolled(遥控)underwater machines with mechanical arms can perform tasks too difficult for divers. Robot spacecraft can explore the solar system and send back information about planets and stars.
  Many robots have computer brains. Some robots are fitted with cameras , sensors, and microphones which enable them to see, to feel, and to hear. And some robots can even produce electronic speech.
  All this does not mean that a robot can think and behave like a human being. Present day robots have to be programmed with a good deal of information before they can carry out even simple tasks.
 44.Robots in real life________.
  A. can behave like human beings B. have the ability to control the world
  C. can think by themselves D. can help us with a lot of work
 45.According to this article, which of the following is not true about robots in the real world?
  A. Some robots are as creative as artists. B. Some robots can help manufacture cars.
  C. Some robots can see and hear. D. Some robots can explore outer space.
 46.Robots can perform many tasks for man because________.
  A. they have intelligence B. they are supplied with computer programs
  C. they can imitate human beings D. they have the ability to learn new things
 47.The robots in science fiction films and those in real life differ mainly in________.
  A. mentality   B. appearance   C. material    D. size

IV.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和D)中,选出最佳选项。
  With her beautiful looks, cheerful character and strong spirit, Karena Lam(林嘉欣)is making waves among Chinese movie fans and professionals (专业人士).
  The Canada - born actress won the Golden Horse Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer awards (金马奖最佳女配角和最佳新人奖)for her role in “July Rhapsody” (《男人四十》)in Taiwan on November 16.She won the same titles at the HongKong Film Awards in April, 2002.
  Lam played a wifful (任性的)high school girl in the film and her idol (偶像)Jacky Cheung (张学友)played the girl 's middle - aged teacher.
  Her awards have made her the person to watch in Hong Kong and Taiwan cinema. But the 24-year-old girl thinks the awards have put more pressure on her and given her new challenges (挑战).
  Besides Jacky Cheung, Lam has appeared alongside other top Hong Kong stars. Last year she starred with Leslie Cheung (张国荣)in“ Inner Senses ” (《异度空间》)and this year she acted with Nicholas Tse (谢霆锋)in“ Tiramisu” (《恋爱行星》). Is there anything that can stop Lam's success?
  “I have learnt that ff someone is trying to hurt you, the best revenge (报复)is to keep living happily and having a good life.That’s what I did, ” she said.
  She is an optimist (乐天派)and determined to be successful. “I always have a way of finding my own happiness. I know what's going to make me smile, and I go for it, ”she said.
  Two films—a comedy and a love - story are waiting for her and she plans to release (首次上演)her first Cantonese (粤语)album next summer.
41.According to the passage, which of the following shows the right order of what Lam did or will do?
  a.To star with Leslie Cheung in“Inner Senses.”
  b.To win the Golden Horse Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer awards for her role in“ July Rhapsody.”
  c.To release her first cantones album.
  d.To act with Nicholas Tse in“ Tiramisu. ”
  e.To win the Hong Kong Film Awards.
  A. b, e, a, d, c   B. c, a, d, e, b C. e, b, d, c, a   D. a, d, e, b, c
 42.In“Inner Senses” Lam was one of the________performers.
  A. supporting  B. chief      C. ordinary   D. learned
 43.The underlined phrase“make waves” probably means________.
  A. gain much attention   B. make trouble
  C. sing and dance   D. fan the flames of disorder

Farmers may not be able to prevent natural disasters, but they can at least try their best to reduce losses.
For example, they can plant crops that are more likely to survive extreme weather. In north-central Vietnam, people with small farms do not plant rice between September and December. Seasonal rains might destroy the rice. So instead, they plant lotus seeds on raised beds. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says the lotus seeds bring a good price in local markets.
Farmers in the Philippines are showing new interest in crops like winged beans, string beans, arrowroot and cassava. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center says traditional crops like these can survive the fierce storms that often strike the islands.
The United Nations says some African farmers grow bambara groundnuts during long dry periods. The seeds of this drought-resistant plant can be boiled for eating or for making flour.
In some parts of the world, farmers grow vetiver grass. Researchers in Thailand wrote about vetiver in 2007 in the journal Science Asia. They noted that the grass can absorb and control the spread of harmful waste waters, like those from pig farms.
Agricultural expert and author William Rivera says vetiver resists difficult conditions. It reduces damage from heavy rains. And vetiver planted on earthen dams may strengthen them against breaks and flooding.
William Rivera also speaks approvingly of alfalfa. Its deep roots can find and take up groundwater. Those roots also help hold the soil against winds. And alfalfa can be a valuable food source for animals.
The deep and extensive roots of sunflowers make them another good candidate for resisting extreme conditions. The tall plants have brightly colored heads that provide seeds and oil.
North Dakota grows more hectares of sunflowers than any other American state. But North Dakota is better known as a top wheat producing state.
Hans Kandel works at the North Dakota State University Extension Service in Fargo. He says farmers in some parts of North Dakota plant wheat that is ready to harvest in only about one hundred days. That way it can grow before the hot, dry months of July through September.
67.The underlined part “bring a good price in local markets” in the 2nd paragraph implies that lotus seeds _______.
A. can bring the local farmers more profit
B. will satisfy the needs of the local people
C. are what the local farmers eat every day
D. don’t sell very well because of their high prices
68.Vetiver grass is planted because it can _______.
A. be a valuable food source for animals B. survive the fierce storms in summer
C. provide seeds and oil D. be useful in many aspects
69.From the last paragraph we can see that the farmers in North Dakota _______.
A. are not hardworking so they are suffering from poverty
B. are good at taking advantage of the weather conditions
C. don’t have enough knowledge of weather and farming
D. plant more sunflowers than wheat
70.From this passage we may safely conclude that _______.
A. weather conditions are always decisive factors in agriculture
B. some crops can help farmers to fight against extreme weather
C. the species of the world are changing quickly
D. agriculture is developing fast in the world

Last Sunday I made a visit to some new neighbors down the block. No specific purpose in mind, just an opportunity to sit at the kitchen table, have some tea and chat. As I did so, it occurred to me how rare the Sunday visit has become.
When I was a kid in the New Jersey of the 1960s, Sunday visits were routine. Most stores were closed, almost nobody worked, and the highways, as a result, were not the desperate steeplechases(障碍赛跑) they have become today. My family normally traveled eight city blocks to the home of my grandmother—the same house my father was raised in, where adults would sit on the front porch and chat while we children played hide-and-seek.
The Sunday visit was something to desire strongly. It was the repetition to church, our reward for an hour of devotion, an opportunity to take advantage of the fact that Dad was not at work, we were not in school, and there were no chores that couldn’t wait until Monday. Sunday was, indeed, different from all the other days of the week, because everyone seemed to be on the same schedule, which means that there was one day when everyone seemed to have time for everybody else.
Sunday as a day of rest is, or was, so deeply rooted in the culture that it’s surprising to consider that, in a short span of time, it has almost entirely lost this association. In my childhood, it was assumed that everyone would either be home or visiting someone else’s home on Sunday. But now the question is, “What do you plan to DO this Sunday?” The answer can range from going to the mall to participating in a road race to jetting to Montreal for lunch. If one were to respond, “I’m making a Sunday visit to family,” such an answer would feel sepia-toned, an echo from another era.
I suppose I should be grateful to live in Maine, a state of small towns, abundant land and tight relationships. Even though folks work as hard here as they do anywhere else, the state’s powerfully rural cast(特质)still harbors at least remnants of the ethic of yesterday’s America, where people had to depend on one another in the face of economic vagaries(反复无常的情况)and a challenging environment.
63.The writer’s general impression of the Sunday in the past was a day when _______.
A. everyone was paying a visit to some relative far away
B. everyone seemed to be free and could have some leisure
C. Dad was not at work while Mom was busy cleaning the house
D. nearly every adult would go to church and children were not at school
64.In the fourth paragraph, the writer compares the response “I’m making a Sunday visit to family” to an echo from another era because _______.
A. people nowadays prefer staying at home on Sunday
B. such answers are rarely heard in our modern society
C. people in the city dislike being disturbed on Sunday
D. visiting someone on Sunday might take a lot of time
65.From the last paragraph we may infer that _______.
A. people in Maine suffer more from economic depression and the changed environment
B. people in Maine has abandoned their tradition and lived an absolute new life
C. land in Maine is short, thus the relationship between people is tense
D. people in Maine always help each other when they are in need
66.Which word we may use to describe the writer’s attitude towards the Sunday today?
A. Unsatisfied. B. Anxious. C. Treasured. D. Teased.

When our son, Alex, was young, he hated to travel. We endured refusals to visit one more museum, even if it was the Louvre. We coped with a child who resisted even a taste of onion soup in Paris and who insisted he would like nothing more than ordering room service at the hotel and watching TV.
Over the years, we have come up with several hard-earned but realistic strategies to help kids cope on long-distance trips.
First, we recognize that some children have trouble adjusting to new environments, food, time zones and schedules. So, in advance of a trip to England, we gave our son a taste of the new culture by making shepherd’s pie for supper. He loved the mashed potatoes, chopped meat and brown gravy(肉汁). For Italy, we sampled homemade pesto(香蒜沙司) served over linguine(扁面条). For Amsterdam, I cooked up a pot of comforting pea soup and baked a delicious apple pancake called pannekoeken. Then, when we traveled to these places, he ate these foods and they seemed like a taste of home.
In addition to food, we always sample the culture beforehand by reading books and renting movies from the countries we will be visiting. For Italy, the book Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino and the films Johnny Stecchino, Cinema Paradiso, and Il Postino gave our son a glimpse of the Italian way of life. For Britain, we rented Mr. Bean and Billy Elliot, and enjoyed stories by J.R.R. Tolkien and E. Nesbit. For Amsterdam, he finished The Diary of Anne Frank.
Before we leave home, we also ask Alex to go through our tour books and pick out activities that appeal to him. He was excited about visiting the London Dungeon and the Imperial War Museum, and taking a ride in the London Eye. They turned out to be big hits. Because Alex’s preferences were given equal attention, he was more tolerant of his parents’ selections, such as visiting Charters Cathedral and the Van Gogh Museum.
We’ve also learned the hard way that dragging our son out of bed early in the morning ,thus making him grumpy all day. Now that he is a teenager, we let him sleep in while we sip coffee at a café, work out at the hotel gym, or take a long walk. This makes our time together much more enjoyable
59.According to the writer, parents are advised to _______.
A. cook children’s favorite food
B. postpone traveling until the kids are in college
C. allow their kids a ride in the London Eye
D. take children’s interest and preferences into account
60.Cinema Paradiso and Il Postino are mentioned as _______.
A. particular desires of children B. an approach to interest the future possible visit
C. highly appreciated films for tourists D. comfortable activities children could pick out
61.The underlined word “grumpy” in the last paragraph is similar in meaning to _______.
A. bad-tempered B. tolerant C. energetic D. nervous
62.Which of the following might serve as a possible title for this passage?
A. Kids and Parents. B. Joys of Traveling.
C. Whether You Go or Not. D. How to motivate Kids to travel

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