第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In this age of ours, I find that almost all of my friends are becoming mere voices.
Not too long ago when friends came, they would fill half the drawing room and their voices would penetrate the four walls and disturb all the neighbors. Now they have all become, step by step, into invisible and untouched beings, whose tiny voices can only be heard by one ear through the telephone, no louder than the mosquitoes(蚊子).
Since this has become a necessary part of modern life, I too have learnt to live with this “ear language”. Many friends have become more distant because they are not very good at this way of communication（交流）, others have become closer through ear language, and there are some friends I know by voice only. There is one particular voice friend I got to know through a very curious incident.
One day my telephone rang. When I lifted the receiver- a young lady’s voice informed me that she was phoning in answer to an advertisement for a night club program hostess. Obviously she had got the wrong number. The incident should have ended there and then. Actually, it was a sweet voice, only her poor imitation（模仿）of Hong Kong pronunciation and intonation got on my nerve and especially the “wa!” gave me the goose flesh. I told her that if I were the boss of the club, I wouldn’t give her a second thought because of her poor pronunciation. The young lady at the other end of the phone immediately came up with a surprising suggestion that, of course in her true local accent, she wanted to learn proper standard spoken Chinese speech from me, because she valued every chance very much. To my great surprise, we became “phone” friends. Every day, at the agreed time, she would ring me up and our “lesson” would begin. And she was tested and interviewed by a radio station in the south and got acceptd. She phoned me for the last time to thank me and to say good-bye. We had already formed a very deep “voice” friendship and have left deep unchangeable vocal(听觉的) impressions in each other’s mind. Any sudden appearance of visual images(视觉印象), good or bad, could only be destructive.
56．The underlined word penetrate in the first paragraph means _____.
A．pass quickly by B．force a way through
C．hear accidentally D．make a hole in
57．The passage suggests us that _____.
A．they would be friends forever
B．they would meet in the future
C．they hadn’t had and wouldn’t have any interview
D．the young lady was able to sing sweet songs in standard Chinese
58．We know from the passage that _____.
A．in modern times people get in touch less than before
B．young people enjoys getting together very much
C．people are more ready to help others
D．people can earn a lot of money in the night club
59．Which is wrong according to the passage?
A．The writer taught the young lady without pay.
B．The young lady can’t be a native of Beijing.
C．The writer is not fond of getting in touch with others
D．Neither of the two is ready to see each other.
Pinnawella Elephant Orphanage
Pinnawella is an orphanage for baby elephants that have been found abandoned in the wild.There are 60 small elephants on the site and they are fed, trained and cared for by the orphanage. If you visit Pinnawella during feeding time, you may be given the opportunity to bottle-feed an elephant during your Sri Lanka holiday. Bathing time is also popular with visitors and accompanying a baby elephant to a nearby river is a wonderful experience.
Colombo Zoo
After seeing an elephant in the wild, seeing one in the zoo may seem a little uninspiring; however this is one for the children.The Colombo Zoo is famous for its elephant shows，where six Indian elephants do all kinds of tricks，from playing the music instruments to shooting basketballs with their trunks.
Wasgamuwa National Park
Wasgamuwa National Park is located in the town of Mahiyangana, an ancient city and important site in the Buddhist religion.It is one of the best places to see wild elephants in their natural habitats(栖息地)and is closest to six other national parks.The park and nearby area also provide ample bird watching opportunities.
Yala National Park
Yala is the largest national park in Sri Lanka and home to the majority of the islands wildlife，including Indian elephants and rare leopards.Arranging a tour here is the best way to spot an elephant，and if you're particularly lucky you may also spy a leopard lying lazily around on an overhanging tree branch.
Maduruoya National Park
This Park has a huge reservoir and if you get up before sunrise，you may spot some elephants playing about in the large expanse of water. You can also ride an elephant through the dense forests, which is perhaps one of the strangest forms of transportation to use on your Sri Lanka holidays.Which place should visitors go to if they want to have closer contact with elephants?
| A．Maduruoya National Park |
| B．Wasgamuwa National Park |
| C．Colombo Zoo |
| D．Pinnawella Elephant Orphanage |
According to the author，Colombo Zoo________.
| A．actually causes harm to elephants |
| B．can bring pleasure to children |
| C．has a good way to protect elephants |
| D．is not inspiring at all |
It can be inferred from the passage that________.
| A．Wasgamuwa National Park is the best place to watch birds |
| B．Yala National Park has nothing special to watch |
| C．visitors can watch birds in Yala National Park |
| D．a leopard can climb up trees and stay there |
What may cause the tourists' curiosity in Maduruoya National Park?
| A．The huge reservoir which has a large expanse of water. |
| B．The beautiful and charming scene of sunrise. |
| C．Riding elephants through the dense forests. |
| D．A group of elephants playing in the water. |
Perhaps the most challenging material you read at school is poetry. Though the message of some poems may be very simple, the way poets put words together often makes this message elusive. When you read a poem, you should begin by trying to understand what the poet is saying on the surface, then examine the way the poet expresses this content, and finally decide how the poem's meaning is created. Here are some steps to read a poem.
First, read the poem once slowly aloud without writing or marking anything. Don't stop until you finish the poem, even if you don't know the meaning or pronunciation of a word. When you've finished, think it over for a moment on any words, images, and characters that caught your attention. Then read the poem again silently. When you come to a word you don't know, look it up in the dictionary.
Understand the meaning of figurative (比喻的)language. Figurative language doesn't mean exactly what it says; instead, it suggests meanings. For example, in the line “Love, all alike, no season knows”, the poet doesn't mean love is unfamiliar with four seasons. Love cannot know anything at all; only people can know something. Thus, the poet is personifying(拟人化) love, giving it human qualities.
Examine and think about the poet's use of language. Why, for example, did the poet choose to compare his love to a red rose instead of a tree or a bird? We can use associations: we usually associate roses with beauty and love, but we also know a rose bush has thorns (刺). All of these associations may not be right for a particular poem, but many of them probably will.
Finally, read the poem one more time aloud.Practice using pauses and stress to make the poem's meaning come alive.The underlined word “elusive” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”．
| A．easy | B．interesting |
| C．difficult | D．boring |
What should we put on the first place when reading a poem?
| A．The form of the poem. |
| B．The content of the poem. |
| C．The meaning of the poem. |
| D．The language of the poem. |
When reading a poem for the first time, we should________．
| A．try to understand new words |
| B．examine the poem's language |
| C．try to understand its meaning well |
| D．avoid being stopped by new words |
We can learn from the passage that figurative language________．
| A．is useful in expressing love |
| B．helps us understand new ideas |
| C．is easy for most readers to understand |
| D．should be repeated while reading a poem |
Nothing is as precious as one's freedom. Dreams, aspirations and ideals mean nothing if one does not have the freedom to pursue them.
A lot has been done in the name of freedom. A lot has been said and written about freedom. In the past six months, the world witnessed Tunisian uprising, Egyptian revolution and Libyan civil war. Thousands of people fought for freedom; hundreds of people lost their lives (for freedom); people are craving for freedom. But, what exactly is freedom? We are fighting for it, we are ready to die for it, we are craving for it, but, can we really define it?
Albert Camus thinks freedom is a chance to be better. Abraham Lincoln calls it best hope of Earth. Epictetus says it's the right to live as we wish. For Moshe Dayan it's oxygen for soul. According to Urban Dictionary it's everything. And going by Oxford Dictionaries, it's power of self determination attributed to the will.
Everyone has different views about freedom. But somehow I am still not convinced because we can't really be fighting for a chance or hope. And the concept of everything is full of uncertainties. I don't think we are fighting for power of self-determination either. And as for the right to live as we wish, if we have the right to fight, then, how can we be denied the right to live as per our wish?
But the question still remains unanswered, what is freedom?
For me, freedom has a deeper and greater meaning. I think freedom is much more than just a right. It's a responsibility of doing what you think is good, not only for you but even for society. It is a state when one realizes their duties and starts respecting others' freedom.
Freedom is when we realize that we can do absolutely anything except force another person to follow us in our madness or our desire for life. Freedom is when we are no longer slaves to our desires, society, its expectations, luxury or slaves to a life we did not choose.
Freedom is when we have the courage to speak out what we know is true, do what we feel is right, and fight for what we think is unfair. One shouldn't really fight for freedom; rather, they should try to achieve it.How many famous people’s definitions of freedom are mentioned in the passage?
| A．4 | B．5 | C．6 | D．7 |
Paragraph 3 mainly tells us that _____________.
| A．Everyone longs for freedom |
| B．Everyone is fighting for freedom |
| C．People have different views about freedom |
| D．Famous people have a deeper understanding of freedom |
Which of the following will the author agree with?
| A．Freedom is a chance to live better. |
| B．Freedom is our best hope in the world. |
| C．Freedom is the right to live as we wish. |
| D．Freedom is a responsibility of doing what is good. |
What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To show different views about freedom. |
| B．To express his understanding of freedom. |
| C．To encourage us to pursue our dreams and aspirations. |
| D．To argue against some famous people’s understanding of freedom. |
After I made it to the city center, I started to feel it might be easy for a foreigner to deal with the great size of Beijing. With growing confidence, I decided to take the subway to the hotel, not realizing that the network didn’t go that far. Impressed with the cleanliness of the station, I bought a ticket and boarded the first train that came along.
After a few minutes I asked in English of course a young man seated next to me where I should get off closest to the Friendship Hotel. Wearing a smart business suit and tie, he would surely speak English, wouldn’t he? Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand me but seemed very friendly. I showed him the room card with all the information of the Friendship Hotel in Chinese characters. He looked at it, and then his eyes moved quickly to the carriage (车厢) subway map. Next, he raised three fingers of his right hand.
In Australia, raising fingers at someone is not usually nice, but this man wasn’t smiling. At the next station he showed me two fingers. Now in Australia, that’s really rude, but I got the message. When we stopped at the third station, he didn’t just point to the door, but got up, took me out of the train, and led me to the top of the stairs, and out onto the street. Then he stopped a taxi and told the driver where to take me.
All this came from a man who couldn’t speak my language, and I couldn’t speak his. I was now speechless, especially when he refused my offer of money. I felt a little embarrassed having even thought he would accept a tip.
This experience made it clear I had to learn some Chinese quickly or my adventures might start turning into bad luck.The author decided to take the subway because ________.
| A．he lived near the city center |
| B．the network covered most of the stops |
| C．he believed in his ability to deal with the trip |
| D．he had a good impression of its cleanliness |
Having been shown the room card, the young man_________.
| A．understood the author well |
| B．still remained puzzled |
| C．answered the author directly |
| D．pointed at the subway map |
Which of the following can’t be used to describe the young man?
| A．helpful | B．rude |
| C．warmhearted | D．caring |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is mainly to ________.
| A．prove the importance of being careful |
| B．appreciate the kindness of the young man |
| C．complain some cultural misunderstanding |
| D．describe one of his adventurous experiences |
You may have noticed something different when you ate at your favorite restaurant. Or perhaps you picked up on it while looking through your social media apps (社交媒体软件) . You guessed it ---we’re becoming a foodie (吃货) culture.
For some, that means photographing every dish, but others are taking it one step further. Sophia Hampton, a senior at Staples High School in US, chooses to make her own food. She has been published in Future Chefs, a cookbook of recipes (食谱) by teens.
Hampton’s best advice for those who want to be foodies is to get in the kitchen.
“Start cooking,” she said. “There are so many resources online, like recipes and articles about food. Go to your local farmers’ market and start cooking with them.
Besides blogs and online resources, there are also hands-on cooking classes for students. The Chopping Block, a Chicago cooking school, offers many different classes for teens, including courses on chocolate and French food.
By attending cooking classes, surfing online and going to restaurants, you can find endless recipes. But sometimes becoming a real foodie means being behind a camera. As our food-loving culture becomes more popular and teen-friendly, social media apps like Facebook, have become major players in food culture.
“Getting involved in foodie culture is as easy as having a camera and a social media app,” one foodie said. “I always go to streets and farmers’ markets to take beautiful pictures of food. Wherever food prices are expensive, the photos are free.”What does Hampton advise those who want to be foodies to do?
| A．Post their recipes online. |
| B．Cook food by themselves. |
| C．Eat at their favorite restaurant. |
| D．Take photos of every dish they eat. |
Where can students find new recipes, according to the article?
① cooking classes ② online resources
③ new restaurant ④ public libraries
| A．①②③ | B．①③④ | C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
What has made foodie culture more popular, according to the article?
| A．People’s growing interest in traditional culture. |
| B．The convenience of getting different food. |
| C．The use of cameras and social media. |
| D．The drop in food prices. |