第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15题；每小题2分，满分30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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
If you are looking for a new pet, don’t even think about Komodo dragons, which are the largest lizards and can grow to be 10 feet long and weigh more than 300 pounds. Komodo dragons run fast and eat almost any kind of meat, including dead or live animals, other Komodo dragons and people. “These things are powerful killing machines,” says Bryan Fry, a biologist.
If those reasons aren’t good enough, consider the bite of a Komodo dragon. According to a new study, it may kill prey like snakes by injecting venom. This chemical, according to Fry and his team of scientists at the University of Melbourne in Australia, can cause shock in the unlucky victim. A person or animal goes into shock when the body can’t offer enough blood to organs to keep functioning. As a result, the body starts to shut down.
Scientists have only recently begun to understand why a Komodo dragon is so deadly. Some people used to believe that a Komodo dragon’s bite contained bacteria from the mouth that would cause a severe infection in the victim’s blood. The infection would finally kill the animal. Fry says that after being bitten by a Komodo dragon, animal usually die quickly.
After more studies, Fry and his team found that Komodo dragon venom contained some of the same ingredients as snake venom. These ingredients thin the blood and cause blood vessels to become larger. To test the venom, the scientists injected rats with it and observed that the rats became still.
Fry’s work shows that Komodo dragons kill their prey with venom, and not by bacteria — and gives us another reason why we should avoid coming across them. That is easy to do, since they live on a few islands in the tropical country of Indonesia.
41. From the passage we can learn that ______.
A. Komodo dragons live on a few islands of India
B. a Komodo dragon weighs more than 300 kilograms
C. a Komodo dragon is more than eleven feet long
D. nobody dares to keep a Komodo dragon as a pet
42. The underlined word “venom” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
A. the chemical that does no harm
B. a kind of way that kills its enemy
C. a kind of poisonous liquid of some animals
D. the gas which could cause death
43. Why does a victim get into shock after being injected?
A. He or it is too afraid to move about.
B. His or its organs can’t get enough blood.
C. His or its body was hurt and shuts down.
D. He or it is bitten and loses much blood.
44. Komodo dragons can’t easily hurt us because ______.
A. they are afraid of human beings
B. the venom in them is not so powerful
C. our blood can make them close to us
D. they only inhabit a few islands in Indonesia
Little Mark is only 6, but he has an IQ of 200, a genius among geniuses. But his intelligence comes at a cost. His parents must keep him intellectually simulated（启发）while making sure he is like any other little boy.
Mark has been attracted by the way how the world works since he was a baby. When he was 3, Mark was reading fluently, mostly self-taught. His parents haven't been able to keep him away from books since.
"I tried many times to stop him reading. We worry about his crazy fond of reading because he constantly wants to read every-thing whatever it is.”
A psychologist at the Centre for gifted children tested Mark and gave him an IQ of 200. The average child of Mark's age has an IQ of 100. At 200, Mark is a genius-even compared with other child geniuses.
"With children like Mark you can tell that's a bright child as soon as they walk in. They just have this sort of intensity, and maybe they're not so good at communicating with people," the psychologist said. "He will never fit perfectly into a class where he's with children of his age.”But Mark's mother worries about the "socially isolated" labels. "Nobody wants their child to grow up with that image. I want him to communicate with others freely, but not to be frustrated academically, so it's really hard to find a balance," she says.
Helen Dudeney from the Talented and Gifted Children Association says Mark is one in a million with such a high IQ. She points out that geniuses are still rare and difficult for the public education system to handle. "The lack of coping comes because teachers aren't trained in teaching gifted children," says Dudeney.
Helen believes it's also extremely important for them to be recognized and supported in their talents. Mark's parents are trying to figure out how best to help Mark. At the moment, there are few options. Mark finds first year work boring and simple, but he must learn to complete the work. His mother says, "We just want to be happy. Just to have a happy childhood and want to go to school every day.”By saying "But his intelligence comes at a cost. ",the author means that
| A．Mark must pay for his intelligence at a high price |
| B．Mark's intelligence brings him negative effects at the same time |
| C．Mark's intelligence results from his parents |
| D．Mark's parents make Mark clever at all costs |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Mark's parents are very satisfied with his love for reading. |
| B．Mark began to teach himself reading at the age of 3. |
| C．Many child geniuses are not good at communicating with others. |
| D．It is hard for parents to bring up a genius. |
If there are 6. 6 billion people in the world, the number of geniuses with an IQ of 200 will be
________．
| A．about 4,400 | B．about 5,500 | C．about 6,600 | D．about 7,700 |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A genius' craziness for books |
| B．The life of the genius' parents |
| C．The burden of being gifted |
| D．The characteristics of Mark |
Every year thousands of tourists visit Pompeii, Italy. They see the sight that Pompeii is famous for—its stadium and theaters, its shops and restaurants. The tourists do not, however, see Pompeii’s people. No one has lived in Pompeii for almost 2,ooo years.
Once Pompeii was a busy city of 22,000 people. It lay at the foot of Mt Vesuvius, a grass-covered volcano. Mt Vesuvius had not erupted for centuries, so the people of Pompeii felt safe. But they were not. In August of the year 79 AD, Mt Vesuvius erupted. The entire top of the mountain exploded, and a huge black cloud rose into the air. Soon stones and hot ashes began to fall on Pompeii. When the eruption ended two days later, Pompeii was buried under 20 feet of stones and ashes. Almost all of its people were dead.
For centuries, Pompeii lay buried under stones and ashes. Then in the year 1861, an Italian scientist named Ginseppe began to uncover Pompeii. Slowly, carefully, Ginseppe and his men dug. The city almost looked the same as it had looked in 79 AD. There were streets and fountains, houses and shops. There was a stadium with 20,000 seats. Perhaps the most important of all, there were everyday objects, which tell us a great deal about the people who lived in Pompeii. Many glasses and jars had some dark blue color in the bottom, so we know that the people of Pompeii liked wine. They liked bread too; metal bread pans were in every bakery. In one bakery there were 81 round, flat loaves of bread—a type of bread that is still sold in Italy today. Tiny boxes filled with a dark, shiny powder tell us that women liked to wear eye-makeup.
Ginseppe has died, but his work continues. One-fourth has not been uncovered yet. Scientists are still digging, still making discoveries that draw the tourists to Pompeii. Why do large number of people come to Pompeii each year?
| A．To visit the volcano. | B．To shop and eat there. |
| C．To watch sports and plays. | D．To see how Pompeiians lived. |
Why did the city uncovered look almost the same as it had looked in 79 AD ?
| A．Because Ginseppe and his men dug it slowly and carefully. |
| B．Because the city was buried alive and remained untouched. |
| C．Because scientists successfully rebuilt the city with everyday objects. |
| D．Because nobody had lived in the city ever since the volcano erupted. |
What do we know about the Pompeiians who lived 2,000 years ago?
A. They lived more or less the same as Italians now do.
B. They liked women wearing all kinds of makeup.
C. They enjoyed a lazy life with drinking and eating.
D. They went back to Pompeii after the eruption in 79 AD.
As a youngster, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania. Surrounded by miles of winding stone walls, the house and field provided endless hours of fun for a city kid like me. I was used to tidy living rooms that seemed to whisper, "Not to be touched!"
I can still remember one afternoon when I was eight years old. Since my first visit to the farm, I had wanted more than anything to be allowed to climb the stone walls surrounding the houses. My parents would never approve. The walls were old; some stones were missing, others loose and falling. Still, my idea to climb across those walls grew so strong that finally, one spring afternoon, I had all my courage to enter the living room, where the adults had gathered after Sunday dinner.
"I, uh-I want to climb the stone walls," I said. Everyone looked up. "Can I climb the stone walls? "Immediately voices of disagreement went up from the women in the room. "Heavens, no!" You'll hurt yourself!" I wasn't too disappointed; the response was just as I'd expected. But before I could leave the room, I was stopped by my grandfather's loud voice. "Now hold on just a minute," I heard him say. "Let the boy climb the stone walls. He has to learn to do things for himself."
"Go," he said to me, "and come and see me when you get back." For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls -and had the time of my life. Later I met with my grandfather to tell him about my adventures. I'll never forget what he said. "Fred," he said, smiling, "You made this day a special day just by being yourself. Always remember, there's only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly as you are."
Many years have passed since then, and today I host the television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, seen by millions of children throughout America. There have been changes over the years, but one thing remains the same: my message to children at the end of almost every visit. "There's only one person in this whole world like you," the kids can count on hearing me say, "and people can like you exactly as you are.”When the writer was small, he lived.
| A．in the city | B．on the farm |
| C．with his grandparents | D．away from his parents |
The writer enjoyed his visits to the farm because.
| A．there were old stone walls. | B．it was an exciting place for him. |
| C．he liked his grandfather. | D．the living room there was clean |
The underlined word “approve” in paragraph 2 means.
| A．prove | B．suppose | C．allow | D．mind |
We can learn from the passage that the writer was.
| A．adventurous | B．funny | C．smart | D．talkative |
Here are six steps to better studying.
Pay attention in class
Do you have trouble paying attention in class? Are you sitting next to a loud person? Tell your teacher or parents about any problem that is preventing you from paying attention.
Take good notes
Write down facts that your teacher mentions or writes on the board. Try to use good handwriting so you can read your notes later. It’s a good idea to keep your notes organized by subject.
Plan ahead for tests and projects
Waiting until Thursday night to study for Friday’s test will make it hard to do your best. One of the best ways to make sure that doesn’t happen is to plan ahead. Write down your test dates. You can then plan how much to do after school each day, and how much time to spend on each topic.
Break it up
When there’s a lot to study, it can help to break things into several parts. Let’s say you have a spelling test on 20 words. Instead of thinking about all of the words at once, try breaking them down into five-word groups and work on one or two different groups each night.
Ask for help
You can’t study effectively if you don’t understand the material. Be sure to ask your teacher for help. If you’re at home when the confusion occurs, your morn or dad might be able to help.
Sleep tight
So the test is tomorrow and you’ve followed your study plan—but suddenly you can’t remember anything! Don’t panic. Your brain needs time to digest all the information you’ve given it. Try to get a good night’s sleep and you’ll be surprised by what comes back to you in the morning.We know from the passage that a loud person is.
| A．a student who always answers questions loudly in class |
| B．someone who likes to talk with others in a loud voice |
| C．a student who likes speaking with others in class |
| D．a person who makes a lot of noise in public places |
According to the author, which of the following is an effective studying method?
| A．Don’t try to review everything you have learned in one go. |
| B．Try to review what you’ve learned in one go. |
| C．To read all your notes the night before the test. |
| D．Try to remember everything on the first try. |
If you don’t understand what you have learnt, you can.
| A．read your notes over and over again |
| B．turn to people around you for help |
| C．put aside the material for later review |
| D．ask your teacher to explain it the next day |
By saying “Sleep tight”, what does the author mean?
| A．Sleep again after waking up. |
| B．Sleep holding your breath deep. |
| C．Get a good night’s sleep. |
| D．Go to sleep early every night. |
This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers(young people aged from13~19)from all over the world will spend about ten months in U.S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’study the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected—much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.
“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize(批评)American schools,” he said. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”This year ________teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.
| A．twenty-three hundred | B．thirteen hundred |
| C．over three thousand | D．less than two thousand |
The whole exchange programme is mainly to__________.
| A．help teenagers in other countries know the real America |
| B．send students in America to travel in Germany |
| C．let students learn something about other countries |
| D．have teenagers learn new languages |
Fred and Mike agree that__________.
| A．America food tasted better than German food |
| B．German schools were harder than American schools |
| C．Americans and Germans were both friendly |
| D．There were more cars on the streets in America |
What is particular in American schools is that________.
| A．there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings |
| B．there are a lot of after-school activities |
| C．students usually take fourteen subjects in all |
| D．students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car |